The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to impose penalty on the non-filers of "invoice summary statement" on supplies and purchases made by the sales tax registered importers and local suppliers.
Sources told Business Recorder on Thursday that the board has issued instructions to the collectors of sales tax for initiating action under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 against the persons, who failed to submit the invoice summary statements on regular basis.
Sources said that the board had made 'invoice summary statement' mandatory along with sales tax returns covering purchases/supplies of registered persons, during a tax period, excluding zero-rated exempt transactions.
Subsequently, an amendment was made to section 33 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, through Finance Act, 1990, whereby a penalty equivalent to Rs 25,000 per month was prescribed for registered persons who failed to submit the summary statements.
Regional tax offices have also directed the taxpayers to submit all the missing summary statements of sales and purchase invoices by mid-April for updating tax record. Sources said that the collectors will be forced to take punitive action against non-filers under the Sales Tax Act as the regional tax offices would not issue second notice to the taxpayers.
It is also learnt that notices of summary statements under section 26(5) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, have created panic among the business community despite being a legal requirement. The taxpayers are already occupied by the sales tax department in filing of monthly sales tax returns, book keeping, and audits.
Taking into account penalty of Rs 25,000 per month for non-filing of statement, the aggregated amount of the non-filers has created liquidation problems for the registered persons.
When contacted, Faraz Fazal Sheikh, a local sales tax expert, said that the requirement of filing of statement under section 26(5) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 should be annulled and must be made part of e-filing system. As more than 90 percent of the taxpayers have been shifted to e-filing, the filing of statement under section 26(5) of the Sales Tax Act must be accompanied with the electronic filing of sales tax returns.
He said that all registered persons engaged in the import or supply of taxable goods have to compile summary of their purchases and sales made during a tax period by the 15th of every month following the said tax period, to the concerned collector of sales tax.
The summary included sales tax registration umber of supplier/buyer; name and complete address of supplier/buyer; name of purchases/invoices received; number of buyers; sales tax involved and other information specified in the SRO. 525(I)/2005, he added.
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